The Bleeding Blossom
by KailJoy
Summary: Sakura had changed over the years. She has joined Anbu and is pretty strong. When she finds feelings for someone, her world starts to turn upside down even more. KakashixSakura
1. Chapter 1

Sakura had become a strong person. She had gone to Tsunade and asked to become her apprentice to grow stronger. Tsunade helped her become stronger and found that she also had healing skills as well.

After that, she had gone to Anko and Kurenai and gotten them to teach her as well. She had gotten stronger and she had been accepted into the Anbu ranks.

She frequently went on missions for the village and she was gone a lot. At first, it had been hard to get used to but she eventually began to make herself a reputation.

She had just gotten back from a village and she was exhausted. She had been sent to find a scroll that had been stolen from Konaha. She had been undercover for three months. She had taken a sound village headband and worn it for the duration of the time that she was there.

Her hair was now long and dyed black. Pink was too conspicuous when she was trying to hide. She was wearing a long black jacket over some black pants. It looked sorta like her Anbu inform but not too much. Her hair was still black.

She saw a restaurant and walked up to it. It was a normal restaurant but there was also a bar. She sighed and walked into it. She was used to being in places like this by now.

A man walked out and stumbled into her. "Hey baby. What're yoouuu doing in a pla'e like thi'?" he slurred out. He smelled like alcohol. He went to put his arm around her but she grabbed his arm and squeezed.

"Don't even try it." she said in a low voice. He ran away from her and the guys that had been watching from inside laughed and hooted. She walked to the back of the restaurant and sat down.

A lady came back to take her order. "Nice job with the drunk, by the way. What would you like to drink?"

Sakura thought for a minute. "Do you have any wine? I'm having a little party for myself."

The lady, Kana, nodded. "I'll bring it back. Any food?"

Sakura shook her head and Kana left. She took this as a chance to look around. She didn't see any familiar faces but a couple of people were looking at her. One man out of all of them caught her eye.

He was tall and had an X shaped burn over most of his face. His face wasn't showing any malice but his eyes sure were. He was wearing a huge jacket over his fighter's body.

Sakura frowned a bit but it was gone from her face in an instant. She knew that she would need some help with this one. She glanced around and her eyes soon found someone. Two someone, actually.

Kakashi and Guy were sitting near the back also, drinking a bottle of Sake. From what she could tell, the bottle was empty.

Kana came back and gave her the wine. "Is there anything else?"

Sakura smiled. "Yes, there is."

* * *

Kakashi was surprised when Kana came and set another bottle of Sake on their table. They both looked at the waitress.

She smiled at them. "The lady in black over there ordered it for you." she pointed at Sakura.

Kakashi gave a small smile. That women was…..beautiful, to say the least. He stood and Guy gave him a look. "I'm going to go and say hi. Come on." he pulled Guy to his feet and dragged him over to her table.

Sakura smiled at them. "Hello. Did you need something?" she asked.

Guy took over. "You are beautiful. May we have the pleasure of sitting with you?" he asked.

Kakashi resisted rolling his eyes at how Guy was acting. He could be idiotic at times.

But Sakura smiled and even blushed a little. "Sure."

She had changed in the eight years since team seven was split. She was now beautiful, powerful, and even deadly if she needed to be.

She fingered her glass a bit, pointing it towards the man. "I don't suppose that you know anyone in here, do you?" she asked.

Kakashi had noticed what she was doing with her glass but he was a bit confused about the question. He looked around and immediately saw the man. He ignored him and acted like he was looking around.

Guy had also noticed him and was surprised that the girl had as well. "No, I don't think that we do." he said. "_Do you know who that is?"_ he whispered.

Sakura nodded slightly. 'Follow me after I get him out of here.' she mouthed. "Well, sorry boys but I need to get going." she stood and walked over to him.

Kakashi could see that she was pulling out the charm to try and get him out of here. She was also acting drunk.

They left the building and Guy and Kakashi exchanged looks before following.

* * *

Sakura had gotten him to follow her.

He stood over her, with his arm behind her. "Babe, you made the right choice." he said with a bit of a slur.

Sakura was gathering the chakra in her fingers. "I know that I did." she said before bringing her hand up. She squeezed the back of his neck, trying to knock him out.

He figured it out and roughly grabbed her hand. "You little…."

"I wouldn't finish that if I was you." Kakashi said from behind.

Guy had gone for help while Kakashi and Sakura were left to fight him. He swung his arms around wildly, making it easy for them to dodge.

Kakashi used his combination of kicks and punches to knock him off balance. Then Sakura came in. She used her illusion jutsu to confuse him before rendering him unconscious.

Anbu came just as they were finishing up. One of them recognized Sakura as an old friend. She gave a small nod that meant they were going to meet up later. They took him away, leaving Kakashi with Sakura.

Sakura sighed and yawned a bit. "I'm sorry….I don't think that I good your name."

Kakashi smiled through the mask. "I'm a Jounin named Kakashi. I can tell that you are a great fighter."

Sakura smiled. It was so funny to see her old sensei hitting on her without even knowing it. "Well then, Kakashi, I thank you for helping me out. Your are a very good fighter as well."

Kakashi leaned on the wall next to her. "Hey, I was wondering if you would let me show you around Konaha. I know where all of the best places are."

Sakura sighed and yawned again. "I'm sorry Kakashi but not tonight. I just got into town today and I'm exhausted."

He was immediately ready to offer to take her to a hotel but she put her finger on his mask, right where his lips were. "I'm staying with a relative. Sorry."

Kakashi pouted a bit. "Could I show you around tomorrow?" he begged her with his eye.

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "Sorry but no. I'm visiting tomorrow with my relative. Bye." she winked as she walked away. It was fun when your sensei didn't know who your were.

Kakashi watched her walk away.

Guy was silently laughing behind him. One of the Anbu members had told him that she was Haruno Sakura. He couldn't believe that Kakashi was hitting on his old student. He wasn't going to tell him. He was going to have fun with this!

* * *

The first thing that Sakura had done when she got to her small apartment was wash the black dye out of her hair. Her hair came down to just above her butt and it was called beautiful by many people.

She changed into a tee shirt and sweatpants. When she walked out into her living room, she smiled. Her Anbu friend was already there.

Her friend, Kohana, stood and walked over to her. She hugged her before taking a good look at her. "You look better with black hair." she said.

Sakura laughed. "You hungry?"

Kohana nodded. She was always hungry. While Sakura was in her small kitchen, she asked her questions. "Did you take the scroll to Tsunade yet?" was her last question.

Sakura walked out and handed her a sandwich before sitting down on the couch with her own sandwich. She took a bite before answering. "Not yet. Technically, I wasn't due back until tomorrow and that's when I'm meeting with her."

The girls talked for half of the night. Kohana left because Sakura couldn't stop yawning and she needed to be awake when she talked with Tsunade.

* * *

Sakura stretched her arms behind her head as she walked down the streets of Konaha. She was wearing a long sleeve pink shirt that hid her Anbu tattoo. She was also wearing black pants and sandals.

She sighed and squinted as the sun fell on her eyes. She looked around and saw that she was near Ino's flower shop.

Ino now ran her parents flower shop. She had made the place flower, no pun intended.

Sakura could hear Ino's loud laugh from down the street. She also might have heard Shikamaru's voice a little bit too. She walked up and saw that the shop was closed. She knocked anyway.

"WE'RE CLOSED!!" Ino yelled from inside.

"INO-PIG, OPEN UP!!!" she shouted back. She heard someone fall off a chair from inside.

The door flew open and an out of breath Ino stood there. She looked at Sakura for a minute, trying figured out if its really her.

Sakura smirked a bit. "Yes Ino-pig, its me."

Ino screamed a bit and threw her arms around Sakura. They were good friends, even though they fought a lot. "Sakura, when did you get back from Kika village?"

No one was to know that she was an Anbu so she had to come up with an excuse for being gone all the time. Tsunade had helped her out and they had come up with this. Sakura was interning with another mednin at a village called Kika, which was not really a town.

Sakura nodded. "I don't know how long I'll be here for, though."

"Hey." Shikamaru said as he came out. He was in an Anbu uniform but even he didn't know that Sakura was Anbu.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I need to see Tsunade-sama. I don't want to be late." Sakura said. They said their goodbyes and Sakura walked down the street in the direction that she had been going in.

She made it to Tsunade's office just before she was supposed to be there. She knocked on the door before entering.

Tsunade smiled at her. "Welcome home Sakura. The mission went well?"

Sakura nodded. "I successfully retrieved the scroll and also learned some valuable information about the true location of their main headquarters. Here is the scroll. It was being used on children and it seemed to make them stronger."

Tsunade frowned. She didn't think that these jutsus could even do that. "Oh well. I heard that you had a busy first might back. Good job on spotting that man."

Sakura nodded. "I wasn't the only one who was there. Kakashi and Guy were also there. They did just as much as I did."

Tsunade smiled. "I know. By the way, did you see Kakashi anywhere today?"

She shook her head. "Nope. I haven't seen him."

Tsunade was getting a bit upset. This didn't happen very often. "Sakura, were he and Guy……….drinking?"

Sakura could tell that this was going to be bad. "Yes." she reluctantly said. "Why?"

"NOT GOOD!" Tsunade punched her desk. "He gets really drunk when he has more than one bottles of Sake."

"And I was an idiot and sent them an extra bottle of Sake to be nice." Sakura slapped her forehead.

Tsunade took a few deep breaths. She was trying to calm herself down. "He'll be out of it for, hmm, the least is two days. Maybe more."

Sakura felt bad. Wait, what was so important about him being able to do something today? "Does he have to do something today?"

Tsunade nodded. "The new class just graduated and he has been assigned to another team. He needs to meet and test them."

Sakura flinched. That couldn't be good.

"Sakura, could you go and check on Kakashi for me?" Tsunade suddenly said.

Sakura had been wondering how he was but that hadn't been on her mind at all! She stared at Tsunade for a minute, not saying a word.

"I need you to see if he is in any shape to go and meet his new team. Please?" Tsunade asked.

She couldn't exactly say no. He was her old teacher and she had never seen his home, so she agreed. "Alright. Where does he live?"

* * *

Kakashi groaned a bit when he heard some light knocking on his door. It may have been light but to him it sounds like a hammer hitting metal.

He had dragged himself to his bathroom just in time to be sick. He was now collapsed on the floor. He grabbed a small towel and tried to clean himself up a bit.

This happened every time that he drank too much. He passed out then was sick for a while. After that, he was fine. And he rarely could tell what he had done after he drank too much. This time, he could tell exactly what was happening around him. Mostly.

He managed to stand and drag himself to the door. He stood staring at the person in front of him.

She had long pink hair in a low ponytail. She was wearing a three quarters length pink shirt that said, 'Don't mess with a girl ninja!' on the front. She was also wearing black pants. Her eyes were what gave her away.

He gulped down another urge to throw up. "Sakura?" he managed to choke out.

She immediately noticed that something was wrong. First off, he wasn't talking correctly, like he was trying to stop something from happening. Second, his face was pale. Thirdly, he smelt like throw-up.

His body heaved a bit as he tried to stop himself. He didn't want to look like this in front of his old student. That would totally humiliating.

Sakura could see what was going to happen. Thankfully, he didn't have a second floor apartment. She grabbed him and pulled him to the bushes near his home. He immediately was sick. She let him be sick before dragging him back into his apartment.

He limply lifted his hand to show the way to his bedroom.

She helped him there and went over to a dresser after putting him on the bed. She found some sweatpants and a tee shirt. She handed them to him and left the room to let him change.

He was a little confused. Why was she doing this for him? Maybe it was just the hangover messing with him. He pulled the clothes on and dropped the nasty ones on the floor.

She came back in after a minute. It took Sakura a minute to realize that he wasn't wearing his mask. Not that it mattered. In Anbu, she could find records on anyone and she had accidentally found one of Kakashi without his mask on so she already knew what his face looked like. She walked over to the side of his bed. "Feeling a little better?" she asked.

"Not…….really." Kakashi managed to get out. He was starting to feel really sleepy. He felt like he hadn't gotten enough sleep last night.

Sakura could see him getting more tired by the minute. Sakura was silently laughing in his head. It was a little funny to see her old sensei who was very strong like this. But it was also humiliating for him. She leaned over and easily pushed him back on the bed.

He wanted to get back up but the bed felt really nice. He gave her a questioning look, still not realizing his missing mask.

She smiled. "Rest. Your tired." she said.

That was all he needed. He slowly started to get under the covers. He was a little embarrassed when Sakura had to help him out. He leaned on the pillow and felt sleep taking over. He whispered something to her before falling fast asleep. "Thanks."

Sakura saw that he was now fast asleep. She carefully got off the bed and accidentally stepped onto the clothes that he had dropped. She sighed a little and picked them up. She found the bathroom and cringed a little. She set to work on cleaning up this mess that he called a house.

* * *

Guy hurried over to Kakashi's apartment after his hangover had worn off. He had remembered what happens to Kakashi when he drank over two bottles of Sake. That and the fact that the brand of Sake they were drinking was strong.

He walked up to the door and didn't even bother to knock before entering. He didn't even notice that Kakashi's house looked a lot cleaner than it did the last time that he had been there.

Sakura had been reading a book that she had found when Guy had burst through the door. She had jumped a little before amusedly watching him. It was funny.

He was about to open the door to Kakashi's bedroom. His hand went for the knob but he stopped when a shuriken lodged in the wall next to the knob. He spun around and finally noticed Sakura sitting in the chair behind him. "WHO…."

She was immediately up and had her hand over his mouth. She gave him a glare.

Guy pulled away from her. "Who the heck are you?!" he semi-yelled.

She had her hand at his mouth again. "Don't yell. Tsunade-sama sent me to check on him."

Guy finally recognized her. "Sakura?" he asked.

She nodded and then hit him on the head. "That was for yelling. He is asleep in there, you know." she said.

Guy got a guilty look on his face. "Oh really?"

Sakura's face hardened. "Yeah, really. Oh, and don't try to deny that you and he were drinking last night."

Guy pulled her outside so they wouldn't wake Kakashi up with their voices. "I don't know what your talking about."

Sakura sighed. "Guy, I know that you recognized me last night by the way you were acting. That and the fact that his eye was glazed over was proof. And he still smells like sake."

Guy sighed. "If Tsunade is looking for him then something tells me that either he or I are in trouble."

"Both of your are." Sakura told him. "He was supposed to meet his new team today. They are probably waiting for him to show up right about now!"

Guy could tell that she was getting angry. "How about I go and meet them instead?" he offered.

Sakura shook her head. She wouldn't hear it. "I'll go. I just don't want to leave him here alone because of how sick he was earlier. You stay hear."

Guy nodded his head sadly. He knew that it was his fault for getting Kakashi drunk like that. He walked back inside the house.

Sakura sighed and also went back in. She grabbed her headband out of the bag that she had been carrying before leaving to find Kakashi's students.

* * *

Hana Flora was pacing back and forth on the looking area. She didn't like to be kept waiting for ten minutes, let alone over an hour. She had a boys haircut and wore a loose tee shirt secure by a belt with

Konahamaru was watching her pace back and forth with a spaced out look on his face. He had grown into a lanky teen but he still wore the long scarf.

Kai Lenu was the last person there. He wasn't even paying attention. He was in the shade of a beam, fast asleep. He had dyed his hair dark purple and wore a white bandana over it. He never took it off.

They were waiting for their sensei to arrive. They had been waiting in the classroom but Iruka had to lock up so they had to wait out there.

A girl came running up to them. "Your team Seven, right?" she asked. She was wearing a headband in her hair.

Hana looked at her. "Are_ you_ our sensei?" she hotly asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I'm just hear to get the info about who you are for him."

Kai had woken up and was listening. He didn't speak much.

Hana glared at her. "Then where is our sensei? Shouldn't he be here instead of _you_?" she spat out.

Sakura sighed. "Your sensei isn't feeling all too well today. Now, I want you to introduce yourselves and tell me something about you."

No one answered or volunteered to be first, just like team seven.

Sakura laughed a bit. "Okay. I'll start. I'm Haruno Sakura and I used to have the same sensei as you three have now."

Kai went next. "Kai Lenu. Not much to say."

Hana and Konahamaru sighed. He needed to talk more. Konahamaru went next. "Ya'll already know me. I like…..girls!" he happily said.

Hana glared and he shrunk back. "I'm Hana Flora and I don't let anyone mess with me. Cross me and regret it." she spat out.

Sakura laughed a bit. Kakashi was going to have a hard time with this group. "Alright. I'll give you the answer that your sensei would have given. He's Kakashi and that's all you need to know."

They smiled a bit. Kai spoke up. "We have to take some sorta test, don't we?"

Sakura nodded. "I can't tell you what but I can tell you this. Don't eat breakfast tomorrow if you don't want to throw up." she walked to the edge and jumped off, leaving Kakashi's students wondering what she was talking about.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura had quickly made her way back to Kakashi's house. She knocked on the door but no one answer. She heard retching sounds coming from inside. She opened the door to see Guy standing in front of the bathroom.

Guy looked at her and sighed. "He tried to eat. He hasn't had it this bad in a while."

The retching sounds stopped. Guy opened the door and went in. He came back out with Kakashi's arm over his shoulder. He took him into the bedroom and didn't come out for a bit. When he did, he was carrying some more dirty and smelly clothes.

Sakura sighed and took them. She went into the small room where a washer and dryer were squeezed into and put them in a basket. "I figure I might as well wait until he stops getting sick until I wash the clothes. But if he doesn't stop by tomorrow, I will wash them because of the smell."

Guy nodded. He scratched his head before stretching a bit. "How is his new team?"

Sakura laughed a bit. "Just the same as us. They are Hana Flora, Konahamaru, and Kai Leno."

Guy groaned. He recognized each of those names. "He won't be able to give them the test tomorrow. I'll tell them."

Sakura nodded. "I'll take care of him tonight. You go on home." she said. She thought that it would be better to have someone who was a mednin stay with him.

Guy frowned. He didn't know about that. "I don't think….."

Sakura cut him off. "It will be better if someone who is a mednin be with him. I learned from Tsunade and you will just be in the way."

Guy nodded but he still didn't want to leave. He had to be pushed out by Sakura. "I'll be back in the morning to find out how he is!" he shouted before she closed the door.

* * *

Kakashi had been laying on the bed when he realized that he wasn't even wearing a mask. He tried to get up but each time, he got dizzy.

He ended up on the floor, trying his hardest not to faint.

Sakura knocked on the door before coming in. she sighed when she say him trying to get to the dresser. "Kakashi-sensei, what are you trying to do?" she asked.

"Mask." he managed to get out. He almost made it before she stopped him.

She shook her finger at him. "Your still sick. You can stand to be without your mask for the night. Now, back in bed." she ordered.

Kakashi frowned a bit as she helped him back to the bed. "When did you get so bossy?" he half jokingly said.

She sighed and but him on the bed. "You missed you meeting with your new team."

He slapped his head. "I….." he started to say but another wave of dizziness hit him.

"Don't worry." Sakura smiled. "I went to meet them and find out about them. Want to hear?"

He nodded.

She pulled out a small black notebook that she took notes on about people. She sat down on the bed next to him. "Alright. First, Hana Flora. First impression, bossy and doesn't like to be held up by _someone_ who is late. She also seems that she won't take no as an answer. Her family uses a jutsu that puts chakra into plants and controls them. Second, Konahamaru. He is hyper and spacey. He also seems to have taken after Naruto because he said that he likes girls."

Kakashi laughed a little. "At least he doesn't like guys……" he muttered.

Sakura tapped his head a bit. "You need to pay attention." she turned back to the book. "Third, Kai Lenu. Very quiet and doesn't talk much. He hides his head because of a condition that he has. His has the family sickness that is passed down. He was unfortunate to get it. He is great at remembering where something is and drawing maps. There." she turned to face him. She had to fight back some laughter.

He was starting to doze off and his body kept tilting forward then jerking back up before repeating. He didn't seem to notice that she had stopped talking.

She stood and carefully leaned him towards the pillow on his bed. She pulled out the covers from under him and covered him up.

He was already pretty much asleep. He shivered a bit under the covers.

She reached forward and felt his forehead. It was warm. He had a slight fever. So this was what a lot of Sake did to him. And she didn't even now how much he had drunk!

He moaned a bit and turned over in his sleep. He was shivering. The blanket fell off of the bed because his movements become more and more jerky.

She reached down and down and picked it up. She just folded it and laid it on the ground. Sakura figured that he would just kick it off again. She walked out of the room and grabbed a chair. She picked it up and took it into his room, along with the book she had been reading.

She placed it near Kakashi's bed and curled up on it. She soon started to get a little cold. She walked over to his small closet and started to search around in it. She found another blanket and then she went to his dresser and took some of his socks.

Sakura went back to the chair and sat back down, getting ready for a long night. Sakura picked the book up and started to read.

She must have dozed off because when she looked up, it was dark. 'What woke me?' she thought.

"no….." was being moaned from the bed.

She glanced over and her eyes widened.

Kakashi thrashing around. He seemed to be fighting in his sleep.

She avoided his moving limbs and checked his fever. It was higher! That's not good.

He shot up on the bed, panting as he glanced around. His eyes were pretty much blank and he seemed out of it. His fever must be affecting his dreams. Kakashi kept saying no, over and over again.

Sakura wasn't sure what she should do. He seemed…..traumatized by something. She decided about what she should do. She climbed onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him.

She had done this with younger children when she babysat them and they had nightmares. She felt him lean on her slightly.

He was still saying no and shaking. He was crying a bit. "No." he said.

"Nothings going to happen to you." she said to him.

"It already did." he quietly said.

She was silent. She had never seen anyone like this. Of course, she knew that he had used to be Anbu because she had seen the tattoo on his shoulder. He must have gone through something terrible. She kept her arms around him.

He was shaking again, the fever completely in control of him. He couldn't tell what he was saying and he couldn't stop shaking, no matter what he did. He unconsciously wrapped his arms around her.

Sakura tried to move away from he but his arms tightened a bit. Sakura used her foot to pull the blanket up onto the bed. "Its alright, its alright." she said over and over again. She got an idea that might just work. She took and deep breath and began.

We are the lucky ones  
We shine like a thousand suns  
When all of the color runs together

I'll keep you company  
In one glorious harmony  
Waltzing with destiny forever

Dance me into the night  
Underneath the full moon shining so bright  
Turning me into the light

He had leaned more on her as she continued to sing. He slowly felt sleep taking him once again.

Time dancers whirling past  
I gaze through the looking glass  
And feel just beyond my grasp is heaven

Sacred geometry  
Where movement is poetry  
Visions of you and me forever

Dance me into the night  
Underneath the full moon shining so bright  
Turning me into the light

Dance me into the night  
Underneath the full moon shining so bright  
Let the dark waltz begin  
Oh let me wheel - let me spin  
Let it take me again  
Turning me into the light

Sakura had felt him start to lean on her more during the song. She looked down at him and saw that he was fast asleep. She also noticed that his arms were still tightly wrapped around her. Sakura wasn't able to move without risking waking him up.

He sighed and shifted, which help Sakura. His head and shoulders had fallen into her lap, even though his arms were still wrapped around her but not as tight. He smiled a bit, opposite of how he had been just a few minutes ago.

Sakura smiled. She had to admit, he was pretty handsome! She shook her head. Where did those thoughts come from?! She looked at him once more before dozing off herself.

* * *

Guy had gotten Tsunade first thing the next morning. He wanted her to check his rival. If Kakashi died before he could beat him, he would do 5,000,000 pushups.

Tsunade wasn't exactly happy to be pulled out to Kakashi's house at eight in the morning. "Why are you taking me here again?" she asked.

Guy sighed. "I DON'T WANT MY RIVAL TO DIE!!!!" he yelled.

Tsunade glared at him. He was being too loud. "Some people are still asleep now, you know!" she said.

Guy was already running towards his rivals house.

Tsunade sighed. She knew that Sakura could take care of Kakashi and she had important work to do. Mainly, sleeping!

* * *

Sakura had sensed the chakra coming and woken up. She glanced down where Kakashi still had his head on her lap. Moving very carefully, she slipped out of his bed and carefully put his head on the pillow before covering him back up.

Kohana was always teasing her that she should be a nurse for the elderly. She would be perfect for it, she said.

Sakura was starting to believe her. She slipped out of the house and met Guy running up the stairs. She ignored him and walked over to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama." she bowed her head a bit.

Tsunade nodded. "Sakura, how is he?"

"Last night he had a fever but it down this morning. He probably won't be sick for much longer but he will feel sleepy for a few days but that is only a guess at the moment."

Tsunade sighed and shook her head, trying to wake herself up. "I want you to stay here with him today. Guy will be too noisy while he is trying to rest."

Sakura nodded and yawned a bit. "Alright. Maybe until he wakes up I can catnap on his couch." she said.

Tsunade noticed how tired she was. "Were you up all night?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, his fever was affecting his dreams and I helped him calm back down. It was a little amusing to see my old sensei like that."

Tsunade smiled and put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Get some rest. If we need anything, I'll send Kohana for you."

Sakura nodded. She walked back up the stairs, where Guy was trying to get he door open. She pushed him down the stairs and went in.

Tsunade pulled Guy away.

Sakura checked on Kakashi. He was still asleep so she decided to let him rest. She walked over to his couch and laid down for a few hours catnap.

* * *

Kakashi woke up one hour after Tsunade left. He blearily looked around, not really remembering what had happened. He remember that when he had woken up that Guy had been there and he remembered Sakura being there and talking to him but not much after that.

He got out of his bed, happy that he wasn't getting dizzy anymore. His stomach still felt a little bad but he could ignore that. He walked over and grabbed a mask out of his dresser. He yawned behind, still sleepy.

"Why did I have to go and drink too much Sake again?" he said out loud. He walked out of his room and smiled under his mask at what he saw.

Sakura was still there and was curled up on his couch, fast asleep.

He walked over to her and reached behind her. He pulled the blanket that was laying on top of the couch down and laid it over Sakura.

She moved a little and sighed. She had a smile on her face.

Kakashi smiled at her and noticed that she was more beautiful now that she was older. She actually looked like the black haired girl that had been in the restaurant.

His eyes widened in realization. That girl **was** Sakura! He had been hitting on his old student! He slapped his head a bit. He walked over to a chair near her and sat down.

He pulled out Icha Icha paradise but he found that his eyes kept going back to look at Sakura. He finally gave up reading and dozed of in the chair.

* * *

Sakura's eyes opened and glanced around quickly. With the training that she had gone through, she could quickly assess her surroundings. She immediately noticed a body in the chair next to the couch.

Kakashi was asleep in the chair next to her. He was wearing his mask once again.

Sakura sat up and felt something fall on her legs. She looked and saw a blanket, the same blanket that had been on top of the couch.

She smiled. Kakashi must have woken up and seen her sleeping out here. So he figured that she would get cold and covered her up. Sakura stood and quietly walked over to him.

She lightly laid her hand on his forehead to check for a temperature when a hand flew up and grabbed her hand and pulled it back. She looked down into the now awake Kakashi's eyes. "Please let go. I was just checking for a temperature."

Kakashi let his hand fall away. Since he had been made a jounin at a young age, that was now an automatic response for him. "Sorry." he said as he stood.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Better."

"Good. Now explain why you went drinking when you knew that you get sick afterward?" she glared at him. "Not to mention that you did it the day before you met your new team."

Kakashi slapped his forehead. He had totally forgotten about that.

"You forgot. Figures." Sakura said while pulling her hair up. It had fallen out of its ponytail earlier. "Don't worry. I met them yesterday and you can give them the test when you are ready."

Kakashi smiled. Sakura was always smart. "Thanks Sakura. Weren't you trying to tell me about them last night? I think that I fell asleep on you."

Sakura nodded. "You did. I copied the notes that I took onto another sheet of paper. Its by your bed."

He would have answered if there hadn't been a frantic knocking at the door. To his surprise, Sakura made it there before he did.

She opened the door to see an out of breath Kohana standing there. "Kohana, what's happening?" were the first words out of her mouth.

Kohana looked up at her from where she was leaning. She had been running all morning. "Scrolls…….gone."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. "Which scrolls?"

"All of them!" Kohana cried. "All available chuunins and jounins are being called to a meeting immediately." she handed Sakura a chuunin outfit.

Sakura quickly went into Kakashi's bathroom to change while Kakashi changed in his room. When they were done, they all ran at top speed.

* * *

Tsunade tried to get the crowd in front of her to quiet down. None of them knew what was going on and they were trying to guess.

"QUIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Shizune shouted. Everyone was immediately silent.

Tsunade stepped forward. She noticed that genin were there as well. "Everyone, we are as of now in a state of emergency. Last night, all of our secret scrolls were stolen. It is of the utmost importance that we retrieve them as soon as possible. Teams well be assigned and all of the genins, you will also be able to help but if the situation gets too dangerous, you will be pulled out immediately."

* * *

Sakura had been pulled away by Kohana. She didn't ask why.

Kohana held out her Anbu uniform and started to put her own on. Then they ran to where all of the other Anbu's were waiting.

The head Anbu nodded when they got there. He was called the Shadow and he wore a black mask with two small white stripes. "Now that everyone is here we can get to business. Some of the teams will need some……well, lets say extra strength. That is where you come in."

Everyone was confused. Kohana spoke up. "Are all of us going with teams?"

He shook his head. "No, most of us will be going on our own. I want squad captains from A-G to stay. Everyone else, spread out. Go."

Everyone went into action. Sakura, Kohana, and five others remained. Shadow nodded. "Each of you are going with a team and heading in different directions. Here are your assigned teams."

Sakura looked at her ands smiled underneath her mask. This was what it said.

Team Leader- Hatake Kakashi

Others- Uzamaki Naruto, chuunin; Ino Yamanaka, chuunin.

Special- Rock Lee, Anbu reserve; Neji Hyuuga, Anbu reserve; Nara Shikamaru, Anbu fighter.

She had to laugh. She knew each of them and how they fought. She looked around and saw that the others were preparing their weapons.

Shadow touched her shoulder and motioned for her to move to the side.

She followed. "Yes sir?"

"I purposely put you with them. You graduated with them and you were a student underneath of the leader. You will work well with them. Watch you back, Shukketsu Sakura." he said before walking into the shadows.

Shukketsu Sakura. Bleeding Cherry Blossom. Her code name because of her style of attacking. She used petals in some of her jutsus and she had apprehended a powerful enemy with them, earning her name.

Her outfit reflected her name. It was black with falling petals on it. The color of the petals were blood, which went with her name. Her mask was black with the normal markings on it and a beautiful depiction of a Sakura blossom on it.

She looked over at Kohana, who was laughing with another one of her friends. Kohana's codename is Taka Hishou, the hawk's flight, was hers. She could summon a hawk that was very powerful, hence her codename. Her mask reflected a hawk's face.

Sakura quickly gathered her weapons and walked off into the woods a bit. She pulled her black coat off and put the regular Anbu uniform on underneath. Everyone wore them just in case them needed to abandon their coats. She hid her weapons on her body and tied her headband around her waist and took off.

* * *

Kakashi sighed as they stood where Tsunade had told him and his team were told to wait.

The team consisted of two chuunins, two reserve Anbu's, one true Anbu, and a jounin. There was one more member but they had not shown up yet.

Naruto had calm down a bit but he was still the most hyper ninja in Konaha. "WHAT'S HOLDING US UP?!" he screamed.

Shikamaru sighed. "Not so loud. Troublesome."

Kakashi sighed. "You need to learn to listen. Tsunade-sama said that we were one of five teams being sent out on special assignments. The others are checking around the village but we are going farther. She also said that we had to have a special member joining us and we need to wait for them."

When he was done, a scroll on a wire appeared in front of him. He grabbed it and someone flipped down in front of him. He looked down at the person who stood in front of him. It was an Anbu leader, by the looks of the mask.

Shikamaru's breath caught in his throat. He recognized that uniform! "Shukketsu Sakura!" he whispered.

Lee and Neji looked at him. It couldn't be.

Sakura turned around at the sound of her code name. She nodded to them, convincing them.

Shikamaru, Lee, and Neji immediately stood straight. She was the B squad leader and was powerful!

Kakashi laughed a bit. It was funny to see them do that just because the person nodded. "I'm guessing that you are the one we were waiting for?"

Sakura nodded. "We need to get going." she said through the mask. It made her voice sound strange.

Kakashi agreed. They all made sure that they had enough weapons before heading off in search of the scrolls.


	3. Chapter 3

They quickly found out that the thieves had headed in the same direction. They caught up to about half way behind them before they stopped to make a plan. Sakura immediately was the one they looked to for a plan.

She sighed and rolled her eyes under the mask. "Okay. When we do catch up, we need to be ready for any situation. Here's what we'll do. In the situation that they split up into two groups, we will as well."

They all nodded. Naruto was trying his best to follow.

"Lee, Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru will go with the first group if they don't have the scrolls. Me, Neji, and Kakashi will head on after the ones with the scrolls. If it is the other way around, just switch the groups. Our first priority is to get the scrolls back safely to Konaha. Understand?" she looked around.

Everyone nodded and they were off again. They thieves had split up, just like she had hoped. They immediately went with her plan. Ino and Naruto immediately attacked while Shikamaru and Lee waited until later to attack. Sakura and her group went after the scrolls.

The people that took them were waiting for them. They immediately got into attack position as did the enemy. Neji used the Byakugan while Kakashi used the sharingan to predict their movements while Sakura took on the leader.

She didn't move and neither did he. They both stayed at a stalemate until a misplaced attack landed near them. They used taijutsu mostly. Sakura was the first to decide to get serious. She quickly made the hands signs for her own jutsu.

Her chakra manifested itself into small, flower sized portions. It solidified and turned into sakura blossoms. She smirked as the man backed away. "Scared? This is my own special jutsu. That's why they call me Shukketsu Sakura."

He backed away from her. He knew who she was and he didn't want to die! "Please, don't kill me! He told us to do this!" he cried.

Sakura circled him with the petals. "Who?" she said in a low voice. She had killed people before but she didn't enjoy it at all.

He was visibly shaking. "I-I don't k-know!" he cried as he fell to his knees. "He just told us to steal the scrolls! We never saw his face!" he would have said more but a shuriken came out of no where and hit him, killing him instantly.

She didn't drop her defense. Her head jerked towards where Kakashi and Neji were fighting. Her eyes widened under the mask as she realized their plan. She flew off with her petals dancing around her.

She didn't get there in time. She got there just as one of the men hit Kakashi.

He fell backwards, his arm bleeding badly.

Sakura immediately sharpened her petals and sent them towards the ninjas. They were all dead in minutes. She immediately went to where Neji was checking over Kakashi. "This is bad." she said.

Neji nodded.

"Go and get the others. Tell them that we have all the scrolls and to come immediately." she quickly said. She had summoned another one of her jutsus while she ran. Vines came to life and immediately grabbed the scrolls and hiding them. They reappeared where Sakura was leaning over Kakashi.

She pulled her gloves off and pulled her chakra to her hands. Sakura quickly went to work on at least controlling the bleeding a bit. She had him bandaged by the time that Neji and the others came back.

Naruto immediately started yelling. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" he yelled. The others immediately clamped their hands over his mouth.

Sakura pulled all of the vines to the surface and sent them to Lee, Ino, and Naruto. They took them and looked at her. "You three will take the scrolls back to the village. Tell Tsunade what had happened, Lee. Ino, you are Squad Leader. Go."

They dragged Naruto away before he could say anything. Sakura turned to Neji and Shikamaru. "We will be taking Kakashi to the town near here. It is dangerous to take him a long distance at the moment."

They nodded and carefully took off with Kakashi on the guy's shoulders and Sakura following.

* * *

Tsunade was immediately told that a group of shinobi was heading this way. She met them and was relieved when she saw that it was Ino, Lee, and Naruto with the scrolls.

After the scrolls were secured, she forced them to tell her what had happened. She frowned when she heard that Kakashi was hurt. "Shukketsu will handle it. I am sure of it." she said out loud, trying to convince herself of that.

* * *

There was only one room left but thankfully it had three beds in it. One of them would be up with Kakashi at all times.

Since it was late when they got there, Sakura took the first watch so the guys could get some sleep. She had been up for about an hour when Kakashi regained consciousness.

He groaned and tried to sit up but Sakura gently pushed him back. "Careful. That wound is still fresh."

He groaned as he tried to move again.

She glared at him, even though he couldn't see it. "Don't make me tie you to the bed. I will carry through with that."

He fell back on the bed and fainted because he had lost a lot of blood and his body was still recovering.

She sat by his side until it was almost morning. She was dozing off when Shikamaru touched her shoulder. She turned her head towards him. "Get some sleep. I'll watch him."

"Make sure that he doesn't move around. Tie him down if you need to." she said while walking over to the bed. She laid down with her hood still on and quickly fell asleep. She sleep until noon. She groggily sat up and realized that her mask was crooked. She quickly glanced around and saw that everyone in the room was asleep and that Kakashi was indeed tied down.

She remembered the man saying that this was also hot spring. She pulled her hood and jacket off and she let her mask fell away. She gathered them up and took them downstairs with her. She put her clothes in the box and secured a towel around herself.

She walked into the girl's section and sat down in the steamy water. She sighed as the water relaxed her sore muscles. Sakura leaned back and just sat there for a while. She opened her eyes when she heard something moving around near the wall.

Sakura grabbed a loose rock and chucked at a small hole she saw forming. She heard a loud ouch from the other side of the wall. Sakura quickly dressed in a bath kimono and walked outside the hall. The person she had hit was also coming out.

"What did you do that for?" a familiar voice said. Jiraiya walked around the corner with a bump forming on his head.

"ERO-SENIN!!! I should have known." she slapped her head. Of all people, it just had to be him. She saw that he didn't remember her. "Sakura." she said.

He immediately remembered her then. "Sakura-chan!" he threw his arm over her shoulder. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

She pulled away from him. She knew that he was a pervert. "I was on a mission with Kakashi and he got himself hurt pretty bad. I……" she started to say but was cut off by a yell from outside.

"I DID IT!!! THE SHUKKETSU DIDN'T GET ME OR THE SCROLL THAT I STILL HAVE!!!!!" a man was yelling. He was wearing the same type of clothing that the other ninjas had been.

Sakura immediately ran up to the front desk. "Do you have a loose outfit that I can borrow?" she quickly asked.

He looked at her with distaste. "No, young lady, I do not." he haughtily said.

Sakura pulled the sleeve up of her kimono, revealing the Anbu marking. "I think that you might want to reconsider that." she said in a dangerous voice.

He immediately ran off and got her the clothes. She ran into a spare room and changed before running back out to where the man was still ranting.

Jiraiya was already standing out there. He held his hand out to stop Sakura. "He's no threat. We don't even know what scroll he has."

Sakura pushed past him. "I already know." she said while charging the man. He was actually pretty good but she still defeated him in under ten minutes. She grabbed the scroll from him and opened it. It was one of Konaha's scrolls, alright. She walked backwards and Jiraiya followed. Sakura turned to face him. "Why are you following me?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "I want to know what that was about."

Sakura sighed. She couldn't lie to a sannin. "Alright. Just let me get my clothes then meet me in the meditation garden." she walked off to get her Anbu outfit. She quickly changed and put the mask back on.

Sakura easily slipped outside to where Jiraiya was waiting. He was pretty surprised when she stepped out of the shadows. He stood up. "Does Hokage-sama need something?" he asked.

Sakura laughed. "Jiraiya, sit down." she said as she pulled the mask off. "Its me and this is my explanation."

Jiraiya's eyes were wide. "Sakura, you're an……. Anbu?" he managed to asked.

She pulled the hooded coat off and showed him the tattoo. "Its true. And not only am I in Anbu, I am Shukketsu Sakura." she revealed.

He was stunned, to say the least. "I still can't believe this. Little timid Sakura is a Anbu captain." he joked.

She narrowed her eyes and performed a partial blossom jutsu, like the one she had done the day before. "You may want to be careful about what you say about me." she said in a threatening voice but still a joking one.

Jiraiya put his hands up in defeat. "Joking. Sakura, you seem tired." Jiraiya pointed out.

Sakura was tired. She had been going on missions a lot and that took it out on the girl. She regrettably nodded.

Jiraiya stood and pushed her inside while she pulled the mask back on. "You, go upstairs and get some sleep. That's an order." he pushed her forward to emphasize his point.

Sakura was glaring at him through the mask. She didn't like to be ordered around. "Don't order an Anbu captain around. You never know where that could get you." She sighed before heading down the hall to where everyone else was waiting for Kakashi to get better.

Shikamaru met her in the hall. He bowed to her.

She tilted her head a bit. "Shouldn't you be sleeping or just being lazy?" She spoke the truth. Everyone gave him a hard time about how lazy he was. She was smirking under the mask.

He glanced at her. "Kakashi kicked us out. He wanted to eat but didn't want to take the mask off in front of us." he explained. "May I speak with you?"

She nodded and leaned back against the wall. He sat across from her. "You're different than all of the other Anbu captains."

Sakura hadn't been expecting him to say that. "How?" she said.

Shikamaru lazily sighed. "You seem kinder and you made sure that no one was left behind. You care about the lives of your team."

Sakura smiled and thought of the words that Kakashi had told them so many years ago. "Those who disobey the rules are trash but the people who don't care for their teammates are lower than trash."

Shikamaru nodded. "I've heard that before. The other reason that your different is because there are only two girl captains and you are one of them."

She started to cough. "You really are smart, aren't you?" she coughed out.

Shikamaru laughed while hitting her back a bit. "It wasn't that hard to figure out. Your voice is higher than a guy's, anyway."

She sighed and pushed her mask up past her mouth. Thankfully, the coat was big enough that it still didn't show her hair. "This isn't what you wanted to talk to me about, is it?" she said in a sort of tired voice.

He shook his head. "Nope. My friend needs your help." he said in a kind of nervous voice.

Sakura's eyebrows raised under the mask. She was a girl after all. When a guy wanted to talk about a friend, it usually meant that he wanted to talk about his own problems. "Alright." she said, going along with it. "What does your friend need help with?"

"Well, he has had a crush on a girl for some time and he thinks that he has fallen in love with her but he doesn't know what to do."

Sakura smirked again. She knew that he was talking about Ino and that she liked/loved him back but she was the only one. "Well, your friend should just tell her his feelings. Its bad for him just to keep it to himself."

Shikamaru looked confused. "But how? That's were I-he-um………." Shikamaru trailed off, his face bright red. He had just admitted what he was trying to hide from her. _"I thought that I could avoid saying that!"_ he thought.

Sakura was laughing. "I thought as much. Just admit it to her and if she really cares about you like you do for her, then she will probably accept it." she stood and stretched like she had used to.

Shikamaru stood as well. "I got one more question. Have you ever heard of a Kika Village?" he surprisingly asked.

Sakura froze for a second but didn't let it faze her. "No. why?"

Shikamaru smirked. "Maybe you shouldn't try to tell lies." he walked off.

Sakura hurried after him. "And maybe you should tell Ino that you love her as much as she loves you." she retorted before pulling the mask down and walking into the room. Kakashi and Neji looked up at her. She smiled through the mask. "Good to see that your awake. Pull that shirt off, I want to check your wound."

Kakashi just stared at her.

"I can heal it and you won't have to go to a hospital." She said. The shirt was off before she could even get the sentence fully out of her mouth. Sakura pulled her gloves off and brought her chakra to her hands.

She lightly put them on his torn shoulder and it immediately started to heal. Ten minutes later, she pulled her hands off and fell backwards. She looked around and saw that Neji and Shikamaru both laying on the same bed, passed out from exhaustion. The had just been sitting there, but it must have been too long.

Sakura looked over at Kakashi and smiled to see that he was asleep as well. She must have been at it longer than ten minutes.

Shikamaru groaned and groggily sat up. He immediately stood and walked to her. "Was I right?" he quietly said.

She stood and opened the window to get outside. She used her charka to carefully pulled herself onto the roof. Shikamaru followed. Sakura sighed. "I guess I was right. You are too smart."

"Sakura, how…….why…….when……." he said, trying to get his questions out.

Sakura smiled. She reached up, pulled the mask of and let the hood down, revealing pink hair pulled in a high ponytail that was tight to her head. "Answers. The same way as you, taking the tests and everything. Because I could and I was skilled enough to make it. I joined when I was sixteen. I've been going on missions every since, for the last five years." she answered each of his questions. Now she had a question. "How did you know it was me?"

Shikamaru smiled. "I wasn't sure at first but what you said early convinced me. It was Kakashi's line. Naruto told me so." He stretched backwards. "So, Ino really likes me?"

Sakura nodded. "I should know. Every time I come home, all I hear about from her is you. I think she knows more about you than you do." She laughed.

They would have talked more but there was an explosion from the other side of the town.

Sakura was immediately on her feet, the mask and hood back in place. "Get the others." she said before disappearing into the night.

* * *

Kakashi was stunned, to say the least. Everyone was stunned. The destruction that had been done here was terrible.

Trees were broken, limbs askew everywhere. Blood was soaking into the ground from the dead ninjas that were on the ground. Weapons were thrown around everywhere. The last thing was petals. Tons of petals were everywhere, blowing in the wind.

Kakashi immediately looked around for Shukketsu Sakura. He saw a scroll pinned to a tree not far from where most of the petals were. He read it.

_Shukketsu is hurt. Bad. I am taking her immediately back to Konaha and you are to follow._

_Taka Hishou_

Each of the guys briefly looked at each other before racing off towards Konaha. Shikamaru was very worried. He didn't want to have one of his friends die.

* * *

Sakura had been drifted in and out of consciousness after the attack. She still wasn't very sure what had happened.

She had arrived on the scene, something went flying at her and repeating over and over again. Before she knew it, she was on the ground and in pain.

She could feel someone picking her up but after that, it was all dark.

--------

It took her eyes a while to focus on wherever she was. She couldn't get her eyes to function properly. She tried to get up but her body couldn't move. She could hear voices.

"I don't how you found out but……."

"She let me know! I JUST MADE A GUESS!!" Shikamaru voice's rung in her ears. She winced from how loud it was.

A sigh was heard. "Alright. But she hasn't woken up yet……." Kohana's voice trailed off as Sakura slipped back into unconsciousness.

Kohana looked at her friend before continuing. "………….and I'm really worried." she cried a bit again. She had been crying ever since Sakura had been found.

Shikamaru looked at her from his spot at the door. "I'll keep this secret to myself. You can trust me." he said before walking out the door.

Kohana didn't know how long she had been sitting there but the thing that got her attention was a weak noise. She closed her eyes so she could listen better.

"Kona." was forced into her ears.

Kohana's eyes flew opened and looked to where Sakura laid on the bed. Sakura's eyes were partially open and she was trying to move her hands towards Kohana. Kohana was immediately out of her seat and running down the hall, screaming that Sakura was awake.

Tsunade was immediately in the room, checking Sakura over. Nothing else seemed wrong and they could successfully heal her. Tsunade breathed a breath of relief. Her student and friend was going to be okay.


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura sighed as she stared out the window of her hospital room. She had been in there for a week after she woke up. She had a small cut on her cheek that wasn't bad at all and it would soon heal on its own. She also had two bad wounds.

One was on her shoulder. It was a large slash mark that couldn't be closed and healed yet because it could be pushed together. They had to wait for a bit for it to heal some more.

The worst and most painful one was on her stomach. It went the full way across her front and also couldn't be closed. Tsunade didn't want to heal it until they were sure that it wouldn't get infected.

Sakura was bored out of her mind. There was a knock at her door and she lazily called come in. she smiled when Shizune walked in. "Can I leave yet?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

"Yes, after I check you over quickly." Shizune said.

Sakura almost fell off her bed in surprise. She hadn't expected that. She staid still while Shizune spread her charka over her stomach wound. She got off the bed and put the clothes on that Shizune handed her.

She was wearing a loose yellow short sleeve shirt that showed a bit of her bandage but not much. It would show if she started bleeding again. She was also wearing a long black shirt with silver symbol's of Konoha's symbol on it. There was also a pair of sandals.

"Thank you Shizune." she said while pausing at the door.

Shizune smiled at her. "Anything for you, Sakura. I hope that your wounds heal quickly. Now go. You can be as bad as Kakashi about staying in a hospital for very long." she said as Sakura disappeared from the door.

Sakura immediately smiled as the small warm wind that was blowing outside hit her face. It felt so good to be standing and walking around again. Sakura opened her eyes and looked around. She decided to go and look for her friends.

She found them where they usually were. Kohana and Kai, sitting together on a secluded bridge.

Kai is Kohana's brother. He and his father married Kohana's mother about thirteen years ago and the became step-sibs but they are as close as twin, considering they were actually born on the same day. They were talking and she hid her chakra signature before slipping into the close trees near them.

Kohana sighed. "I wish that Hokage-sama would let Sakura-chan out of the hospital. Its boring without her."

"I miss her too. I really like her. She's funny and nice and smart and cute and…………" Kai started to list the things that he liked about Sakura.

Sakura had had enough. Even though the conversation hadn't been going on that long, she was sick of what Kai was saying. She jumped out of the trees in the blink of an eye and punched the back Kai, forcefully sending Kai flying down the river.

Kohana flew from her seat and hugged Sakura, forgetting about her injury. "SAKURA-CHAN!!!" she cried.

"Ow…….stitches….." she managed to gasp out.

"Kohana! Release!" Kai called as he pulled himself back up onto the bridge. "She just got out of the hospital, for goodness sake." he said with an exasperated sigh.

Kohana immediately held Sakura at arms length, putting her hand directly on her hurt shoulder. "Did I hurt you?"

"No but my shoulder is hurting now." Sakura said while lifting Kohana's hand off of her shoulder. "So, how have things been for the past week and a half?" that was how long she was in the hospital.

"Incredibly boring. But I'm afraid that you won't see much us for the next week." Kai calmly said.

Sakura had just gotten herself balanced on the bridge and she almost fell off. "Why?"

"We are being sent on a recovery mission. Nothing drastic, we'll be going as chuunin instead of, well…….you know." Kohana said.

Sakura nodded. "I probably won't be doing much of anything, anyway. Maybe I'll convince Shikamaru to tell me how he found out."

Kai fell off, going into the water again. He still didn't know about that.

Sakura glanced over at Kohana. "I thought you were going to tell him?"

She shrugged and disappeared. Sakura jumped off the ledge and headed towards the training field where Kakashi had passed them. She had been told that he was testing his team today. Maybe she could help him be sadistic.

* * *

Kakashi was bored. He had been standing near the monument for three hours so far and they hadn't attacked him once. He was leaning up against one of the three wooden posts and reading his newest perverted book.

"They haven't attacked yet?" a voice brought him out of his thoughts.

He pulled the book down and glanced over it. Sakura was standing in front of him. "Sakura. What are you doing here?"

She smiled. "I wanted to see if you had tied them to the poles yet or if they had passed. Do you even know where they are?" she asked.

He shook his head, not really wanting to talk right now. For some reason, he was starting to feel a little sleepy.

Sakura nodded. "I guess you don't want me in the way. Bye Kakashi-sensei." she said before disappearing in a flurry of blossoms. The blossoms slowly fell to earth.

Kakashi didn't know what was going on but he soon let his head fall, himself fast asleep.

Kai closed his eyes and smirked. "Nice Hana. Stage two." he whispered.

Hana and Konohamaru nodded and all three of them slipped out of the dark woods where they had been hiding. Kai reached up and pulled his bandana off, leaving the forehead protector on. There was a dragon tattoo wrapping around his head.

Hana and Konohamaru slipped up and made sure that Kakashi was truly asleep. They even moved the book and he didn't stir. They then quickly tied him up with some vines that Hana had summoned to the surface.

Kai let a bit of his special chakra loose in his mouth. He went as close to Kakashi as he dared and slowly stuck out his tongue. It looked like a snake's or a dragon's tongue. He wrapped it around the bells and quickly but carefully removed the bells. Then they disappeared into the forest, leaving an asleep Kakashi tied to the pole.

Sakura appeared in front of him and she had a stunned look on her face. They were pretty smart. Knowing that he would trust her but also knowing to hide her own chakra signature. Hana had also hidden the scent of the plant that she had used to drug Kakashi. That, and the fact that she could summon vines and plants to her will was impressive.

She left Kakashi there and slipped into the shadows, quickly finding them. Her eyes widened when she saw what they were doing. They couldn't decided who to give the two bells to but each of them was willing to sacrifice their spot on the team for the others.

Sakura quickly made some hands signs and she appeared in Tsunade's office.

Tsunade was surprised. She hadn't expected to see Sakura so soon. "Is there something you need Sakura?"

Sakura smiled. "You do know that Kakashi tested his new students today, right?"

Tsunade nodded, not knowing where she was taking this.

"Well, I went there after talking to my friends and you will never believe what I saw. They used perfect teamwork and they actually knocked Kakashi out by using a sleeping powder that was made on the spot. They also wanted to give the others a chance to be on the team. They can't decided who gets the two bells."

Tsunade smiled. She was glad that this team was working out as well as she had hoped. "And you are telling me this because the sleeping powder still hasn't worn off of Kakashi. Well, then you are to go and tell them that they all pass."

Sakura nodded and quickly poofed herself in front of the genins. They all jumped when they saw her. Hana immediately recognized her. "What do _you_ want?" she snapped.

Sakura sighed. "Well, first off, congrats." She cryptically said.

Kai looked at her strangely. "What for?"

"All of you pass. And second, that was very good teamwork back there."

"HUH?!" they said in stereo.

Sakura laughed. This was just like hers, Sasuke's, and Naruto's reactions. "A shinobi is supposed to looked for the hidden meanings." Sakura answered.

Kai thought silently. Hana was fed up with these trick answers. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" she screamed.

Sakura walked into the field where Kakashi was still out cold. She shook him, trying to wake him up.

"It won't work. Its knock out gas." Hana dryly said.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Sakura said without looking at them.

"NO!" Hana yelled. "THERE IS NOTHING TO FIGURE OUT!!!"

"Teamwork." Kai quietly said. "He wanted us to work together to try and defeat him."

Hana glared at him. "Then what were the bells for?"

"To create tension. To see if we could work together under pressure." Kai quietly said.

"Good." Sakura said as she turned to face them. "Each of you is now…………" She started to say but an explosion interrupted her. Smoke blew across the field, blinding them. Sakura immediately used her petals to blow the smoke away.

Ten men in black clothes and masks were standing in front of them. One of them was holding an unconscious Kai.

Hana went to lunge for him but Sakura grabbed her and held her back. Sakura's face was void of emotion. "What do you want here?" she said in a cold voice.

One of the men let out a snort like laugh. "We were supposed to be coming back for more scrolls but this kid will do for ransom."

Sakura got herself ready to fight. Shizune had given her a weapons pouch that was hidden under the shirt. "What do you mean, more?"

"We want to add to the ones we already have!" he cried. They immediately jumped back into the forest, leaving three of them to deal with Sakura, Hana, and Konohamaru.

Sakura touched the shaking Konohamaru. "Untie Kakashi and try to wake him up. If it doesn't work, go dip him in the river near here. We will leave a trail. Hana, your with me." She quickly gave orders. "I won't let any of you get hurt." she said with a lopsided smile.

Konohamaru nodded and ran over to where Kakashi was. The men didn't pay any attention to Konohamaru. Hana grabbed Sakura's shirt. "I can't do this." she said in a scared voice.

"You are related to the Haruno family, correct?" Sakura suddenly asked.

Hana slowly nodded.

"Then things are different. I would never let a cousin of mine die." Sakura said. She quickly pulled her legs up and threw the shirt off of her legs. Shizune had also given her some black shorts. She heard some splashing as Konohamaru attempted to wake Kakashi up. "They taught you the dance, right?" she asked.

Hana slowly nodded. "But……I'm only a beginner……….they say that I'm worthless…….that I'll never by able to do anything……." she trailed off, not wanting to continue.

"Don't listen to them. Now, let's go!" Sakura said as she quickly made hands signs. Petals appeared and lazily spun around her. They were the same color of her hair. "Use it." she ordered.

Hana didn't want to do them but she quickly did the hand signs quickly. A few purple and red petals appeared but they weren't as many as Sakura's. They also didn't seem to want to stay in the air.

"Concentrate. Force your chakra into them." Sakura told her. Hana did and Sakura could tell. The three men backed away, not wanting to know what was going to happen.

Sakura and Hana moved move in sync. They started out by swinging there left leg around, like a sweep the feet move. They kept getting faster and faster and the flowers followed them. Then, when they couldn't get any faster, Sakura and Hana burst out and sped at the men. They did arm thrusts but didn't hit them. The went past them but they petals didn't miss them. Still spinning, they encircled the men and killed them.

Hana was horrified. She started to back up but Sakura caught her shoulder. "I CAN'T DO THIS!!!" she screamed.

Sakura squeezed her shoulder. "Show me that teamwork I saw earlier. We need to save Kai." Hana nodded and they flew off together.

* * *

Kakashi could tell that his hair was a little wet but he figured that it wasn't a big deal. He just wanted to stay out of it. He flew up when he felt someone touch the mask. He grabbed the small hand.

"Kakashi-sensei, your hurting me." Konohamaru said as he tried to get away from him. That was the only thing that he could think of to wake Kakashi's up.

"What's going on?" Kakashi asked. He felt like his tongue had swelled.

"Men in black took Kai and Miss Sakura told me to wake you up then catch up to her and Hana!" he quickly said.

Kakashi grabbed Konohamaru before he was even finished and he took of in the direction of a small explosion. He got there just in time to see Kai fly up in the air and Sakura fall to the ground, clutching her stomach.

He grabbed Kai and set him down on the ground and quickly took care of the other men. He kept one alive for interrogation. Then he went to Sakura. "Sakura, are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"My-my stomach." she gasped out. "I have stitches there." she said before doubling over in pain. It felt like she couldn't breath.

Kakashi looked at his team. "Head back immediately." he ordered before grabbing Sakura and teleporting to the hospital.

Shizune immediately ran out when he arrived. She pulled Sakura's shirt up a bit and sighed. "Thankfully, you didn't tear the stitches. But they will be sore for the next few days. You will be confined to your apartment for three days. After that, you can go out again."

Sakura grimaced. She was in too much pain right now to really care. She slowly nodded her head.

Shizune sighed again. "Sakura, you may get a fever as a result of the medicine. Kakashi, can you take her back to her apartment?"

Kakashi nodded. "There is a guy near training field 3 that was with the guys who attacked my team. He is tied up for interrogation." Kakashi told her before teleporting away. He stopped outside the hospital gates. "Sakura, I don't know where you live." he said.

Sakura groaned as a response. she made the hand signs and teleported both of them in front of her apartment building. "The top floor room." she said.

Kakashi nodded and poofed them to the top floor. He took the key that Sakura held up and quickly went inside. He walked into her bedroom and put her down on the bed. "Need anything?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I just want to sleep." she mumble as she fell unconscious.

Kakashi carefully tucked her under the covers before turning off the lights and going into her living room to wait for her to wake up again.

* * *

Sakura groaned as she shifted on her bed. She slowly opened her eyes and they soon adjusted to the darkness. She groggily sat up and looked around.

"Good, your awake." Kakashi said as he stuck his head into her room. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

Sakura pulled the covers up over herself. "Kakashi, what are you doing here?" she cries. Her cheeks turn bright red.

Kakashi walked into the room and sits down on the edge of the bed. "You took care of me when I was sick. Your hurt and I want to take care of you." he said.

Sakura glared at him. "Kakashi, I………." she started but she collapsed into a coughing fit. It seemed that the cold that Shizune had predicted had come after all.

Kakashi sighed and scratched his head. He stood and forced Sakura back into a laying position. "You stay like that. I'm going to make you some soup." he stood and walked into her kitchen. He quickly found some rice and instant rice. He quickly put them together and put a timer on so it would burn.

He walked back out into the living room to wait. He dozed off a bit and he barely heard the buzzer go off twenty minutes later. He made it there just before it burnt. He poured two bowls and walked into Sakura's room.

Sakura looked up at him. "Is that soup?" she quietly said.

Kakashi nodded and handed her one of the bowls while sitting down in the chair next to the bed. He pulled his mask down and started to eat.

Sakura stared at him. "Why?" she suddenly asked.

Kakashi gave her a strange look. "Why what?"

"Why would you show me your face?" Sakura was looking at him.

"Because I trust you. Now eat your soup." he ordered and they finished off the soup in silence.

Sakura soon fell asleep and Kakashi went out into her living room to sleep on her couch. He would take care of her tomorrow, just like she did for him.


End file.
